Airbus, Boeing Get U.S. Approval To Sell Planes To Iran

The U.S. Treasury Department has granted licenses to Airbus and Boeing to sell jet planes to Iran in multibillion-dollar deals.

European aerospace giant Airbus was the first to receive a license allowing that allows it to sell the first 17 planes in a landmark deal with Iran.

Airbus spokesman Justin Dubon told AP on September 21 that Airbus received the license and that the first 17 planes will be A320s and A330s.

An Airbus A320s

Boeing announced later in the day that it had also been given approval by the Treasury Department.

A Boeing spokesman said it is still negotiating terms with Iran on the sale of as many as 109 jetliners.

Earlier this year, national airliner Iran Air signed agreements to buy 118 planes from Airbus in a deal estimated to be worth some 22.8 billion euros ($25 billion).

The deal was made possible by last year's historic nuclear agreement, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for it curbing its nuclear program.

Both Airbus and Boeing have agreed to sell or lease more than 100 aircraft each to Iran Air as Tehran rebuilds its aviation sector following years of international sanctions because of its controversial nuclear program.